Backing and extracting tool for button-turning machines



H. HASTINGS. BACKING AND EXTRACTING TOOL FOR BUTTON TURNING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 19I5. 1,321,910. Patented Nov. 18,1919.

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311A]? CIPENT OFFICE.

HERBERT HASTINGS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGIIQR T ART IN BUTTONS, INCORPORATED, .493 GOFIPOBATIUIN DIE YORKu BACKING AND EXTRAGTING TOOL FOR BUTTON-TURNING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

Application filed November 16, 19l5. Serial No. 61,840.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT HAsTINes, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Backing and Extracting Tools for Button-Turning Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, true, and eXact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the referencenumerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to a backing and extracting tool for button turning machines and has for its object to provide a backing tool for supporting a button in position to be operated upon by a finishing cutter adapted to both finish and sever the button from the blank or annulus forming a part of the stock from which the button is turned.

A further object of the invention is to provide in addition to a backing and sup porting tool for a button in process of com pletion, means for withdrawing the button from the annulus after the button has been completed by the finishing tool. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the backing tool and chuck shown in longitudinal section, and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken longitudinally through the reciprocating spindle head shown at the left of Fig. 1.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several figures indicate the same parts.

The tool which is adapted to perform the last operation upon the button which is usually the one employed for providing the finishing cut on the outer or face portion thereof, may also serve to sever the button from the blank or annulus and to accomplish this result, said tool is provided with points or cutters at its edge which circumscribe the periphery of the button for severing the portion or webwhich remains to hold the button after the rough cutting tools have operated on the blank. It will readily be seen that unless the button is supported at the side opposite to which the finishing cutter is operating, the latter will have a tendency to break the web and force the but-ton out of the blank before the web has been entirely severed, thus leaving the button with an irregular bur, which would be very objectionable and would necessitate the button being subjected to a further operation to make a perfect and marketable product. In order to obviate this difficulty I have provided a tool which is arranged in alinement with the tool which performs this finishing and severing operation and is so constructed that it engages the button and forms a backing or support therefor during the severing operation, the parts of which are so arranged that the severing tool is permitted to advance and entirely cut away the supporting web, thus trimming the edge of the button to leave it with a smooth satisfactory finished edge. In addition to this feature of backing and supporting the button, I have also adapted the tool to act as a chuck which is employed for withdrawing the completed button from the annulus.

In carrying out my invention I have provided upon a frame 1 upwardly extending brackets 2 and 3 arranged at the right hand side of a turret case 4: and similar brackets 5 and 6 located at the left hand side thereof. The first mentioned pair of brackets support the bearing boxes for the spindle 7 carrying the finishing tool 8 while the brackets 5 and 6 support the bearing boxes for the spindle 9 carrying the button holding or backing tool 50. These bearing supporting brackets and the spindle bearings mounted in each are similar in construction and a detail description of one of these parts is applicable to all. Each of the brackets is provided with an aperture in which the respective spindles and their bearings are positioned. These bearings thereof.

comprise the inner and outer boxes 11 and 12 connected by a cylindrical web 13 which is provided with an aperture in its upper slde covered by a removable plate or cap 14. Each of the boxes is tapered and fitting therein are the journal boxes 15 which are split lengthwise and are held in position by adjusting nuts 16 whereby they may be positioned longitudinally in their respective boxes and adjusted to compensate for any lost motion or wear.

7 Cooperating with the bearing boxes of each shaft are the centering devices comprising the adjusting screws 17 and the bearing blocks 18 in engagement with the bearings as shown in Fig. 1. Each spindle is provided with a pulley 19 but only the pulley on the spindle carrying the cutting tool 0perates as a driving pulley, the other pulley acting as an idler and cooperating with another pulley (not shown) in carrying a belt for operating other mechanisms forming no part of the present invention. The spindles to the right and left of the frame are moved longitudinally by reciprocating heads 20 and 21 respectively mounted on the outer ends of the slide rods 22 and 23 supported upon the frame at opposite ends Each of the reciprocating heads actuates the spindles with which they are associated simultaneously, and are provided with arms 24 and 25 as shown in Fig. 1, which carry the connections by means of which the spindles are adjusted relatively to the heads. The outer end of the tool carrying spindle is grooved as indicated at 26 and positioned therein is the hook shaped extremity 27 of the threaded tubular adjusting bolt 28 which may be operated longitudinally relatively to the head in either direction by means of a nut 29 and secured by a clamping nut 30. The bolt 28 is provided with a keyway and is prevented from rotating in its supporting arm by a key 24. Arranged in one end of the bolt is a bearing piece 27, preferably of fiber, abutting the end of the spindle and actuated by a thrust rod 26, the outer end of which is engaged by an adjusting bolt 28 threaded in the outer end of the bolt 28 and secured by a lock nut 29. The parts 26, 27 a and 28 are made in separate pieces, but in operation they act as a single member for adjusting the shaft in one direction. By means of the bolt 28 the spindle may be adjusted so that the tool carried thereby will cut into the blanks on which they operate a given predetermined distance while the movement of the reciproeating heads remains the same and as any lost motion betweenthe spindles and heads may be taken up by the adjusting devices the tools can be positioned to perform their work accurately.

It will be obvious that the finishing tool which actually severs the button from the blank may be arranged to operate either upon the front or rear face of the button, the backing and extracting tool being arranged to cooperate with the opposite side of the blank, although in the illustrations these parts are shown as operating upon the face and rear sides respectively of the button.

The backing and chucking tool is supported in the spindle shell 9 containing the longitudinally extending chuck operating the thrust rod 32 which is supported centrally of the shell, near the forward end of the latter, by a collar 33 and at its opposite extremity, by laterally extending wings 34 which are rigidly mounted upon said rod and guided in the slots 35 formed in the end 31 of the spindle shell and are provided on their edges with screw threads receiving the limiting collar 36 and the locking nut 37. The end 31 of the shell is closed by a pusher plug 38 having the annular groove 39 which receives the hooked end 27 of the adjusting bolt 28, which is carried on one of the arms of the reciprocatory head 21. The plug 38 is rigidly connected with the end 35 of the shell 9 by any suitable means, but preferably by being tightly driven into said shell. Between the pusher plug or cap 38 and the adj acent end of the rod 32 is a spring 40 forcing said rod forwardly which is capable of yielding to permit an independent movement of the spindle shell 9 when the movement of the rod 32 is limited by the engagement of the nut 36 with the end of the pulley sleeve bearing 41. The forward end of the shell 9 is provided with a threaded collar. forming a shoulder 42 which cooperates with a similar shoulder 43 formed on a sleeve 44 arranged within the shell. and having an outer end projecting therefrom. This sleeve is normally projected outwardly with its shoulder 43 in engagement with the shoulder 42 by means of a coil spring 45 arranged between its rear end and the collar 33. The sleeve 44 is prevented from turning in the shell 9 but is guided for slight longitudinal movement thereon by a pin 46 lying in a small slot in the sleeve 44. The shell at the beginning of its rearward movement moves back on the sleeve 44 until the shoulder 42 engages the shoulder 43. Thereafter the sleeve is carried rearwardly and the jaws of the clutch are released. The chuck jaws indicated by 47 areformed as parts of a split sleeve, the inner end 48 of which is rigidly connected to the thrust rod 32. The open end of the sleeve constituting the mouth of the chuck is recessed sufiiciently to receive one of the faces of the button, and the edges of the chuck jaws are made thin in cross section to permit them to be readily inserted in the narrow annular space formed between the periphery of the button and the annular wall of the blank by the cutting tool or tools which previously acted on the blank. The chuck jaws are closed and opened by the engagement and disengagement of the conical surface thereon which cooperates with the taperingportion of the intZrior wall of the sleeve 44, as indicated at .9. i i

The chuck aws themselvesvdo not properly form the support or backing tool and,

although, they may be used for this purpose, I prefer to support the button indicated at 49 by a separate backing member 50; The latter lies centrally within the chuck jaws and is moved outwardly therein by a coil spring 51, said movement'being limited by the head of a pin 52 secured in the end d8 of the chuck jaws 47. Also arranged within the part 50 is a screw 53 which may be ad justed longitudinally in the member relatively to the end of the pin 52 to limit the inward movement of the backing member as may be desired.

The work piece or button 49 is preferably held as shown in Fig. 2 by the pivotally mounted gripping jaws 54operated by the plungers 55 which are controlledby the piston heads 56 movably mounted in the cylinders 57. A ring plate 58 serves to support the button 49 when the same is operated upon by the cutting tool. 8.

By referring to the several figures, the operation of the backing and extracting tool will be readily understood. Upon the inward movement of the head 21 the spindle 9 and the partscarried therein are advanced in a direction from left to right until the backing member 50 engages the button and compresses the spring 51 at which time the stop collar or nut 36 engages the pulley sleeve 41 and limits the inward movement of the thrust rod 32. As the backing member 50 is now in engagement with thebutton the surrounding chuck jaws 4-7 are in position to engage the periphery of the button, their extremities lying within the annular channel previously cut in the blank, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The continuedinward movementof the head 21 causing the shell 9 to be farther advanced places the spring 40 under tension which holds the rod 32 stationary, and likewise compresses the spring 45 causing the chuck sleeve 4st to be advanced over the'chuck aws, whence the co operating inclined surfaces 49 on these two parts cause the jaws to close. The movement of the sleeve i l relatively to that of the jaws and the shell 9 is comparatively slight and the excess movement of the latter is accour modatcd by the compression ofthe spring hi.

While I prefer to employ a chuck for 51'8- movingthe finished button from the blank,

this'is not wholly essential and may fbe con]- sidered a refinement of the broader idea of supporting or backing upthe button duringthe operationjof the finishing tool. The

adjustment of thebacking tool requires conof cutting it out of the blank, or the backing tool may break it out of the blankbefore the. finishing tool has com oleted its works H The adjustment of the bac ring tool as a whole should be such that when the button is severed and the finishing tool reaches the limit of itsforward movement, the button lies in the same position in the ring of the blank it occupied before it was severed. a On account of the delicacy of adjustment of this tool, I only rely upon the, adjusting screws of the head 21 for the coarser ad-y justment and mount the tool in the shell 9, which moves inwardly and outwardly with the head. The tool supported in the shell and movable independently therein isaccuratelylimited in its inward movement by: the stops thereon cooperating with the bear-in gs or stationary part of the machine. i

The finishing tool having perforined its operation it is retracted, as previously erplained, at which time the backing and cX- tracting tool is also moved outwardly and j moves the shell 9 in a direction toward the left but as the thrust rod 32 held in its projected position by the springstt) there is no rearward movement of the backing tool or. chuck during the. first part of the retractive movement of the shell. By reason of the compression in the spring 45 the chuck jaw operating memberor sleeve 44: remains pro-- jected holding the jaws closed in engagement =withthe button. Howeverr as the out ward or retractive movement of the shell 9 continues, itsshoulder 42 brought into engagement with the shoulder 43 of the sleeve Mcausing the latter to be moved in rearward direction to release the 47 and when this has been accomplished, the shell at the inner ends of the slots 35 may engage with the ,wings 34: and. causeuthe thrust rod and the connected parts to continue ia rearward movement, in a. direction away from the turret, as the backing. tool and chuck are then carried outwardlywith the shellto thelimit of its movement.

It will be remembered that wheathe backing member. 50 was first brought into engagement with the button, it was arrested by the latter and the slight movement of the thrust rod which occurred thereafter caused the spring 51 to becompressed, consequently 'fro m'the blank (while the finishing-tool is retracting) and be operated to-release and discharge the buttonwhile the tool is projeeting through the turret plate, or it may be retracted and the chuck operating members actuated to discharge the button at the side of the turret on which the tool is located,vbut this is only dependent upon the shapeof the grooves or slots formed in the cam wheel 59 which controls the relative movements of the tool operating heads 20 and 21 through themedium of the bell crank levers 60 and 61.

' I have designated the member 32 on which'the chuck jaws are-carried as a thrust rod, but it might with equal appropriateness be termed a limiting stop member or tension rod, as it is positively advanced to the limit of its movement by the shell in which it is inclosed and when arrested resists' the tension of the springs 40 and 45.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a work-piece holder, the combination with a shell, a thrust rod and gripping devices connected to the inner end of the rod, member located between the shell and gripping devices for operating the latter, a

spring for moving it in a direction to operate said devices when the shell is moved in one direction and cooperating shoulders on the shell and member for moving the latter to release the devices when said shell is moved in the other direction.

2. Thecombination with a button turning machine having a work piece holder, a stationary bearing and a reciprocatory member movable relatively thereto, of a backing tool operated by the reciprocatory member comprising'a shell movable longitudinallyin the bearing, a thrust rod supported therein and limited in its movement in one direction, chuck jaws attached to the rod, a member for operating the jaws yieldingly moved with the shell in one direction to close the jaws and retracted by the shell when the latter is moved in the opposite direction to release said jaws.

'33. In awork piece holder, the combination with a shell, a rod movable longitudinally therein, chuck members supported on the rod' and projecting beyond the forward end of the shell, a stop on the rod projectshoulders on the shell and sleeve for retracting the latter against the tension of the spring.

4. In a tool for use in connecion with button turning machines, the combination with chuck jaws, a thrust rod, a member for operating the jaws and an outer containing shell, of a stop therein, a spring within the shell between the stop and jaw operating member for actuating the latter, a pusher block and another spring arranged between the block and thrust rod.

5. In a work piece holder the combination with recessed chuck jaws, a thrust rod connected thereto, and a yielding backing menr ber located within the jaws, of a shell, a jaw operating member, .a stop within the shell and a spring between the stop and jaw operating member.

6. In a work piece holder for button mak ing machines, the combination with spring chuck jaws provided with exterior cam surfaces and a sleeve movable longitudinally on the jaws and adapted to cooperate with said surfaces, of a thrust rod connected to the jaws, a shell surrounding it and the sleeve, and a spring interposed between the latter and the shell for moving said sleeve on the jaws to close them when the shell is moved in one direction and cooperating stops on the shell and sleeve for moving the latter to release the jaws when the shell is moved in the opposite direction.

7. The combination with a bearing, a member movable longitudinally in the bearing and a chuck locking device movable in said. member, of a chuck carried by the member and movable forwardly thereon to disengage it from the locking device, a stop for limiting the forward movement of the chuck and means for advancing the position of the member forwardly after the chuck is arrested to allow said locking device to close the chuck.

8. The combination with a bearing, a support movable longitudinally therein, a chuck movable longitudinally on the sup port, and astop for limiting the forward movement of the chuck, of a chuck locking member held in inoperative position on the support upon the advance movement of the chuck, means for advancing the support forwardly independently when the chuck is arrested and other means for moving the locking member into operative position.

9. The combination with a bearing, a longitudinally movable support therein, a chuck also movable longitudinally on the support and a stop for limiting the forward movement of the chuck, of a chuck look ing member normally held retracted in the inoperative position on the supporting member upon the advance movement of the chuck, means for moving the supporting member forwardly to release the locking member and a spring for projecting the latter into engagel'nent with the chuck.

10. The combination with a work piece holder, a bearing located at one side there of, and a chuck movable toward and from the holder and having a stop engaging the bearing to limit its forward movement, of a locking member for the chuck, a support for the chuck and its locking member movable on the bearing independently of the chuck and serving during movement in one direction to retract the locking member into the inoperative position.

11. In a work-piece holder the combination with a chuck mounted for reciprocatory movement in a suitable support and having a stop cooperatinn therewith to limit its forward movement, of a spring actuated sleeve operated in the direction of the forward movement of the chuck for lookin it, a member movable rearwardly with the chuck toretract the sleeve into in operative position and movable forwardly with the chuck to release the sleeve from inoperative position and close the chuck jaws.

12. In a work piece holder, the combination with recessed chuck jaws, of a backing member movable rearwardly therein and an adjustable stop for limiting the rearward movement of the member relatively to the jaws.

13. A work piece holder comprising spring chuck jaws having a central recess and provided with an enlarged pocket at the outer end of the recess, a backing member having a head portion within the pocket and a body portion within the recess and an adjustable stop on the member for limiting its inward movement relatively to the gripping portions of the jaws.

14:. A work piece holder comprising spring chuck jaws having a central recess, a tubular backing member located therein, a post projecting from the bottom of the recess having its outer end extending into the member and a screw adjustable longitudinally within the member and cooperating with the post to limit the outward movement of said member within the jaws.

HERBERT HASTINGS.

Witnesses RUssELL B. GRIFFITH, HARRIET S. VAY. 

